Housing of Lovebirds

For love birds the out door aviary is the best. The biggest advantage of the out door aviary is that the love birds will get the natural sun light which is very essential for the feathers and also for the over all health of the love birds. In case the out door aviary is not feasible because of the climate, then in door aviary can be planned but the same should be supported by full spectrum lighting.

Love birds will enjoy very much if they are housed at high traffic area of the house as they will get enough of interaction. The cage of the love bird should have enough space for flying which will improve the over all health of the love birds. Flying is a kind of exercise for the love birds. Besides the love birds will become obese if not proper exercise is performed.

As far as the cage size is concerned, larger the space more will be the comfort. The bar space should be not less than one inch. The diameter and the texture of the perches are very important to avoid the foot sores and arthritis problems. The main perch should be of wood and this perch will be used by the love birds most of the time. Sandy perch is used by the love birds at night for sleeping and hence these perches should be placed at reasonable height. The gate should be made of metal and the same should be positioned at the bottom so that cage cleaning will be easy. The love birds will be kept clean from their own droppings.

Here are few recommendations for the love bird housing. They are cage, cage liner, organic pellet, treats, mineral block, food -finding toys, interactive training tools and courses, variety of perches and shred able toys, bird perch scale.

Common Health Issues of Lovebirds

One should know the signs of healthy love birds only then he or she will understand the health signs and the health issues of love birds. Here are the signs of healthy love birds. The love bird should be active, alert, vocal and social. The eyes should be dry so also the nostrils. The love birds should drink water and eat the food regularly through out the day. The love birds should have well groomed, smooth and colourful feathers. The love bird should fly as and when the chance is provided if it is healthy. The love birds that are not well will refuse to fly even if there is a chance. Let us discuss here few common health issues of love birds.

Diarrhoea- if there is no faecal formation in the stool then you can confirm that the love bird has diarrhoea. The causes for diarrhoea in love bird may be parasite infestation and too much of fruit in the diet. One can think of reducing the fruit quantity in the diet if there is diarrhoea. But it is always better to consult the opinion of avian specialist if the love birds are found to have diarrhoea.

Feather plucking and mutilation- the love birds start plucking if there is extreme boredom. The feather plucking happens if the love birds are provided unhealthy diet. The love birds pluck the feather in an attempt to clean the feather as they are not allowed to bathe very often.

Proventicular dilatation disease- the affected love birds will show signs of depression, lose weight abruptly and there will undigested food particles in the stool. The avian specialist should be consulted at the earliest in order to save the birds.

Obesity- the causes of obesity are unhealthy diet, lack of proper exercise, poor feeding etc. The fat content of the food should be minimized. The food provided should have sufficient protein, vitamins, minerals etc. The love bird should be active as much as possible. The in house flight training is the best option as it will take care of the exercise option.

Red flags-The affected love birds will have the following signs. They will be swelling of the beak, soiled feather, coughing, wheezing, discoloured stools etc. such birds should be rushed to the avian specialist for treatment at the earliest.

Grooming and Training of Lovebirds

Lovebirds Grooming

The love birds are very intelligent creatures. They know to keep their beak trim. These love birds manage this by chewing seeds and other things. But the love birds cannot keep their nail trim. The pet owner must help these love birds to trim their nail. Nail trimming is an easy task. You can easily pick a bird nail trimmer from market. One should buy the guillotine type that is best suited for the love birds. But one should know how to trim the nail of the love birds with the help of nail trimmers. One can approach the vet for their guidance or can get the information from the pet shop or on line.

Just as the case of other pet animals, the love birds enjoy their bath. Bathing keeps the skin and the feather of the love birds clean and healthy. The love birds enjoy bathing with their owner. One should have the habit of misting the love bird every day.

Lovebirds Training

Lovebird training is very easy but one requires lot of patience and persistence. There is a difference in the grasping capacity between birds to bird. Some love birds learn training faster while some others are slow learners. The hand fed love birds learn faster than parent fed birds. The younger love birds learn faster than older love birds. Likewise peach faced love birds learn faster than many other love birds’ species.

Training can be started as early as possible. As much as possible you be gentle and sweet to the love birds. While training the arms and the fingers should be introduced to the cage. The training session should not be more that 20 minutes at a time. Train the love bird to hop on to the finger with specific command. Reward the love bird for any successful completion of work. The love birds can mimic the sounds of the owner if trained properly.

What is the best food to feed love birds?

Of late, more and more people are going for love birds to have them as their pet. These lovely little creatures are very cute looking and intelligent hence are adored by one and all. These love birds are excellent stress busters. These birds can perform many tricks and enthral the audience if trained properly. Most of the pet owners are not aware what the best food for these cute little creatures is. Let us discuss about that in this article.

The food provided should be preferred by the love birds. Seed mix of good quality is what is required for the love birds. Budgie seed added with white sunflower, mung beans, hemp, groats is the best for the cold weather. Love birds can also be provided with fresh good quality fruits such as mango, apple, grapes, pears etc and vegetables such as broccoli, pak chio, kale, sweet corn cob etc. love birds can also be provided young bamboo leaves.

The love birds enjoy soaked sprouting seed. The above mentioned seeds can be soaked in warm water. The mixture can be kept as it is over night and allowed to drain. Then the same is placed in warmth till it sprouts. Generally it takes 2 -3 days for sprouting. This sprout should be rinsed once again before feeding the love birds. This sprout is not mere a food but an excellent tonic for the love birds.

The love birds require sufficient minerals for the health of the birds. Hence provide cuttle bones as they are natural source of minerals. Mineral blocks are available in the pet stores and always have them ready for usage. If one follows diligently the details provided in this article, the love birds of theirs will be always at brim of health and the colour of the love birds will be as attractive as ever.

Lovebirds Bathing and Grooming

The lovebirds love bathing. These birds will use their water bowl as their swimming pool and dive in it and take a bath at least few times in a week. In case the love bird of yours is not doing this activity, you should splash water on it to clean the dirt on the body.

One should have deep bowl filled with water in the cage while trying to splash the water on the love bird. You should also play with that water with your finger to attract the love bird to bath in the water. In general, the love bird gets attracted to bathing while one attempts this technique

The room temperature water can be sprayed on the love bird. The problem with this technique is that some love birds do not enjoy this spraying. Spraying the water should be done on alternate days not daily. Molting love birds just love the spraying very much. Complete soaking of the love bird should be attempted once a week and not more.

After bathing, the lovebird should be provided safe perch. The diameter of the perch should suit the requirement of the lovebird so that the lovebird can grip it properly. This is must because; the love birds can not fly as the wings are wet. One must be very cautious about this otherwise the lovely pet will hurt itself by losing its balance and falling on the floor.

There are so many lovebirds accessories are available in the market. The one that is required most is shower perch with suction pumps. This accessory can be attached to the wall of the shower. This way the love bird will enjoy nice rain shower. The head of the shower should be positioned in such a way that the force of the water should not rattle the love bird. The water should fall on them as mist.